Allied Health Professional (AHP) |Welcome|Discussions|Nourishing Destiny

Hi Simon, and welcome!

We have experience practicing with many WM doctors and hospitals in various settings (lectures, grand rounds, consults, outpatient referrals etc) and we have had several discussions about that here, so you may search the archives/previous posts. Also we have a practice with 2 MDs and 2 LAcs, so we examine often the integration of the 2 paradigms in the clinical setting.

Here are some bullet points I have learned over the years:

-Be humble and listen well.
-Discuss acupuncture simply and avoid terms that are foreign to WM practitioners. When we do hospital consults, we avoid using TCM terms/names of meridians etc without also using a simple translation. Recently I have been avoiding CM terms completely, but each situation is different. Spend some time discerning what the needs of the facility are.
-The hospital and most established clinics are well-oiled machines. Don't challenge existing structures until you are well-known to your colleagues there. Defer to nurses and doctors most of the time. Don't be defensive about what we are doing.
-Be willing to give excellent lectures on what we do. Be well prepared (we have a series of power points we give with a nice combination of the science and art of acupuncture)
_Be knowledgeable about scholarly articles/science on acupuncture.

_Write thank you notes when anyone refers you patients. If it's an MD, I type them; if the referral is from a patient or friend, I hand write them. This is common sense to me, but I am surprised that people younger than me don't know about thank-you notes, so I thought I would mention it.

There is more about high-end customer service (such as return all phone calls promptly) but I need to see someone now, which reminds to mention....always be on time or early!

Simon - I have contracted as an acupuncturist providing treatments for cancer patients in the outpatient clinic for three years, the program has been in place for 7.

If you can cultivate some enthusiasm for "winning over" the providers, administrators, schedulers, wig makers, cafeteria cooks, candy stripers and anyone else you will get to interact with, then your job will be all the more fun and effective. We've recently experienced a dip in volume which prompted several early morning staff meeting visits by me, reminding people the who, what, when, where, and why for acupuncture services. What a great chance to make a personal connection, answer questions, and solicit real partnership in the whole process of helping patients find acupuncture. As with anything, this process of building relationships is paramount. We all want the best for our patients.

The hospital has its own unique culture, notably for me, one in which patients EXPECT care to be covered. Well, since acupuncture is NOT covered, then it has been great to go to these staff meetings and be very explicit that it is OK to tell patients that its an out of pocket expense. Its not a "dirty word" and that I need their help in connecting with patients so that they can find me, acupuncture and get some needed relief and support.

Anna's response was great - I am WAY behind on thank you notes and will get right to it.

Hi Simon,

Yes, its been about 3 years that I've been there. I am contracted through a integrative medicine program here and work only in outpatient, though if I find out that one of my clients is an in-patient I often go up to see them and treat. Our program is in the process of setting in-patient services that would offer a "salary" to the person who was otherwise on call and not getting to see many people.

I am one of two acupuncturists in our out-patient clinic. The other person has been on for 7 years and I was added due to demand. Though demand has waned a bit for a few reasons which has prompted all of the outreach I described in the previous post. I am charting in the Epic computer system which allows me access to the entire chart and enables other physicians to see my notes for acupuncture (which is great!). I can also contact physicians directly for follow-up, etc. I see up to 5 patients/week (half day once a week) and there is a contracted rate per visit that I get. Its quite a bit less than what I receive in private practice, though I am learning so much, seeing patients I wouldn't otherwise see and the treatments help so tremendously during chemo/radiation that it balances out for me. We use a designated space that is a procedure room the other days so it pretty much looks and feels like a hospital room, though we did put in a dimmer lamp and some nice room dividing curtains for the times when we have two people in a the same time. Sometimes I go to the chemo bay where a person is have their chemo treatment and do acupuncture at the same time, but that's not too often.

Sounds great, Simon! And I'm happy to be in touch. Email me directly anytime...